Sherrington: Rangers fans reject the old but still embrace familiarity in home-opening win

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Tom Fox/Staff Photographer

Texas Rangers fan Robbie Parker, father of Sandy Hook shooting victim Emilie Parker ,receives a hug from former Rangers catcher Pudge Rodriguez after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the home opener against the Los Angeles Angels at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Friday, April 5, 2013.

ARLINGTON — For the first home game of a new year, a
new day at the Ballpark, Rangers fans rejected the old, as expected, and still
managed to embrace something vaguely familiar.

If it wasn’t claws and antlers at the home opener Friday, it was close.

Adrian Beltre provided the pop, and Craig Gentry the sizzle.

A game-tying home run in the seventh.

A game-winning dash in the eighth.

An old look for a new team?

“We’re capable of winning many different ways,” Ron Washington said. “If we
can get loose offensively, we’ll do it.

“If not, we’ll do it this way.”

“This way” — Gentry stealing second off a left-handed pitcher, then scoring
on Ian Kinsler’s two-out single to right field — was the difference in a 3-2 win
over the Angels before a matinee crowd that will need 48,845 doctor’s excuses
before Monday.

Beltre’s two-out, one-run blast in the seventh certainly eased the anxiety
building in the locals, who watched the home team go 1-for-11 with runners in
scoring position up to that point.

But what the full house took home was the sight of Gentry’s exhilarating
scramble, and at Josh Hamilton’s expense, no less.

Setting the scene: After a one-out single in the eighth off lefty Scott
Downs, Gentry broke for second on an 0-2 pitch to pinch-hitter Jeff Baker. The
move was not without risk. If Baker had struck out, as he eventually would, and
Gentry’s jump wasn’t good enough, it had the potential for an inning-ending,
rally-killing, wind-sucking double play.

Gentry, who’d studied Downs’ move to first, felt good about his chances. His
manager did, too.

“If he gets blowed up,” Washington said, “he gets blowed up.”

Translation: Gentry has the club’s highest rate of success on steals the last
couple of years, but Washington has encouraged him to take more chances. This is
part of his remedy for last year’s disappointment. It’s why Gary Pettis switched
places with Dave Anderson at third, to push, push, push. Washington wants more
aggressiveness from all of his players, though not necessarily A.J.
Pierzynski.

One of the home-opening highlights came in the second, when the new catcher’s
shot into the right field corner scored Nelson Cruz with the Rangers’ first run,
which would have been more than sufficient for everyone in a Ranger uniform.

But, when Pierzynski saw Hamilton box the ball around in the corner, he got
bigger ideas.

Or as he described his brainstorm, “Run until they tag you.”

Now, watching Pierzynski going for three wasn’t exactly the same as Bengie
Molina steaming in for the cycle, but it bore some resemblance. Pierzynski was
taking a big risk. Had Alberto Callaspo held on to the throw, in fact, he might
have had the out.

But Callaspo didn’t hold onto the ball, which is the lesson Washington
stresses. Even big league players make mistakes, and sometimes it’s up to you to
force the issue.

Pierzynski’s ramble ultimately went for naught, but the spirit lingered.
Gentry, who’d come up empty with Pierzynski at third, was thinking about the
club’s inability to manufacture runs in such situations Friday when the crack of
the ball off Kinsler’s bat startled him out of his reverie.

Did you expect the new third base coach to send you home, Craig?

“I wasn’t stopping,” he said, smiling, “even if he tried to stop me.

“I had my head down, and I was trying to score.”

It was going to be a close play, and it looked like it might not be in the
Rangers’ favor. Hamilton’s strong throw was on target and on time. But,
depending on your preferences, it was either a little too short or about 6 feet
too long. Chris Iannetta elected to move up the first base line a step to try to
short-hop it, an almost impossible task with a skillet of a catcher’s mitt and a
runner bearing down on you. The throw skipped up and over Iannetta’s glove, and
Gentry scored easily.

From the viewpoint of Rangers fans, anyway, it was the perfect end to a bad
day for Hamilton. Besides his problems negotiating right field, he went 0-for-4.
His two strikeouts gave him eight in 16 at bats to go with one hit.

Considering all the drama about how Rangers fans would receive their prodigal
son — boo or cheer or simply turn their backs — it might surprise you to learn
that they did, indeed, applaud. In fact, they gave him a standing ovation after
Derek Holland struck him out on a 1-2 pitch to open the second.

Let’s hope they’ve got that out of their systems now. Hamilton has moved on,
and so have the Rangers. When you’re running like it’s a jailbreak, you can’t
afford to carry a grudge.

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About Kevin Sherrington

Kevin Sherrington, a general sports columnist, was born in Dallas and grew up in Houston. He has worked at five newspapers in Texas. He has worked at The Dallas Morning News since 1985. He had no idea his career would come to blogging.